Seaport Res Ptn Comments on Ecolab Inc.’s Q3 2024 Earnings (NYSE:ECL)

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) – Analysts at Seaport Res Ptn boosted their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Ecolab in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, May 6th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now expects that the basic materials company will earn $1.75 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.73. The consensus estimate for Ecolab’s current full-year earnings is $6.58 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Ecolab’s Q2 2025 earnings at $1.87 EPS and Q3 2025 earnings at $2.00 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on ECL. Mizuho upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, April 12th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $236.88.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $233.58 on Thursday. Ecolab has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $234.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.70 billion, a PE ratio of 43.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50-day moving average is $225.18 and its 200-day moving average is $204.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 20.56%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. Ecolab’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ECL. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Motco purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries.